I’ve been working for a top investment bank for three years in London. but they’ve just given me three months’ notice. I’ve been applying for other positions, but I’m not getting anywhere. It feels like I’m back in the position of an intern, but this time I have monthly commitments.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Do you have any advice?
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Hey,
I won't patronise you - it is not a good thing that has happened to you, and I'm sorry to hear it (especially this time of year). But you will bounce back.
1) Headcount and hiring will kick off in the new year - there are a few roles out there, but recruitment in the silly last couple of weeks in the year is always going to be slow. You were at a top IB and, while there's a good backlog of applicants for experienced hire AN roles (my team had 300+ applications for an experienced hire AN position in London), you should stand out having been in work for 3 years and up to recently. So don't be too disheartened yet.
2) I don't know your financial situation, but plan accordingly. If you have little savings and don't have wealthy parents to fall back on, that means a little belt-tightening. Hopefully your notice period payments and redundancy payment offer a reasonable safety net.
3) Get feedback from your team. Your team head / formal feedback might be a bit hand-wavey, but speaking informally to your VPs, EDs, SVPs, MDs, and even AS / ANs should help get some perspectives. Firstly, you need something to say at your upcoming interviews. Second, you need to try to learn from a crap situation.
4) It might seem obvious but speak to your close friends, girl / boyfriend, parents, whoever your support people are. Anonymous people on internet are not your friends (again obvious). I know it can be really stressful, especially if unexpected. People in this industry are typically over-achievers in life and see that as part of their identity (at least for me it was, and it shouldn't have been, when I was much younger) are prone to taking an experience like this personally.
5) If you haven't already, reach out to recruiters and explain your situation (in the new year - if you reach out now they probably won't read your email and by the time they get back to their inboxes in January it's probably lost). You need their network.
6) Have a game plan. You need to treat your search as a literal job, and have a plan that (for example) you focus on IB / PE for the next x months, then broaden to CorpDev, and then to [Big 4] after another y months. Or maybe it's your own business, or further education. But treat it like that. It'll add some confidence and stability, and it might actually be a good plan.
Good luck
Thanks a bunch for your kind words! You’re absolutely right; I’ve been applying since November, but I haven’t had any luck. It’s frustrating because I’ve made it to the third round of internal interviews, only to be rejected. And when I ask for feedback, I either get ignored or told that they went for someone with more experience. It’s like I’m stuck in a never-ending loop. I’ve had some really great conversations and opportunities, but they just disappear for no apparent reason. I can’t help but wonder if a manager is giving them bad feedback or if it’s just my paranoia getting the best of me. I had a good network of people who I thought could help, but unfortunately, they haven’t been able to assist me. I’ve reached out to countless people, but I’ve just been stonewalled or led down a rabbit hole with no luck. And don’t even get me started on HR. This time of year is the worst to get this news, especially since I’ve been putting in so much effort.
Just on that point about paranoia, I think that's unlikely (if you mean someone from your past shop). It's a bit (a lot) unprofessional to do reference checks without the applicant's consent. It might happen in isolated cases, but only rarely.
Excellent advice. Make sure you log all your application and their status on an excel tracker. Before you know you‘ll have 50-100 „leads“ and will need to chase HR, prepare interviews and do follow-ups.
What I can add to the post above: Your highest ROI will come from personal introductions, not some out in the blue applications where you are competing with 100+ kids. Ask seniors with whom you have had a good relationship with if they can make an intro to another bank. Reach out on Linkedin to a team you think is interesting and ask for coffee. Be creative here!
Best of luck. You only need one yes and you’ll be back on track.
What bank is firing Analysts? Is this GS?
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